idget.

"An' what you got dyah?" he continued, turning to the pail, beside which
Duke knelt, lighting a candle.

"_Picayune_ o' light bread an' _lagniappe_[A] o' salt," Duke began,
lifting out the parcels, "an' _picayune_ o' molasses an' _lagniappe_ o'
coal-ile, ter rub yo' leg wid--heah hit in de tin can--an' _picayune_ o'
coffee an' _lagniappe_ o' matches--heah dey is, fo'teen an' a half, but
de half ain't got no fizz on it. An' deze heah in de bottom, dey des
chips I picked up 'long de road."

"An' you ain't axed fur no _lagniappe_ fo' yo'self, Juke. Whyn't you ax
fur des one _lagniappe_ o' sugar-plums, baby, bein's it's Christmas? Yo'
ole gran'dad 'ain't got nothin' fur you, an' you know to-morrer is sho
'nough Christmas, boy. I 'ain't got even ter say a crawfish bite on my
lines to-day, much less'n some'h'n' fittin' fur a Christmas-gif'. I did
set heah an' whittle you a little whistle, but some'h'n' went wrong wid
it. Hit won't blow. But tell me, how's business to-day, boy? I see you
done sol' yo' brick-dus'?"

"Yas, sir, but I toted it purty nigh all day 'fo' I _is_ sold it. De
folks wharever I went dey say nobody don't want to scour on Christmas
Eve. An' one time I set it down an' made three nickels cuttin' grass an'
holdin' a white man's horse, an' dat gimme a res'. An' I started out
ag'in, an' I walked inter a big house an' ax de lady ain't she want ter
buy some pounded brick. An', gran'dad, you know what meck she buy it?
'Caze she say my bucket is mos' as big as I is, an' ef I had de grit ter
tote it clean ter her house on Christmas Eve, she say I sha'n't pack it
back--an' she gimme a dime fur it, too, stid a nickel. An' she gimme
two hole-in-de-middle cakes, wid sugar on 'em. Heah dey is." Duke took
two sorry-lookin' rings from his hat and presented them to the old man.
"I done et de sugar off 'em," he continued. "'Caze I knowed it'd give
you de toofache in yo' gums. An' I tol' 'er what you say, gran'dad!"

Mose turned quickly.

"What you tol' dat white lady I say, nigger?"

"I des tol' 'er what you say 'bout scrapin' de plates into a pan."

Mose grinned broadly. "Is you had de face ter tell dat strange white
'oman sech talk as dat? An' what she say?"

"She des looked at me up an' down fur a minute, an' den she broke out in
a laugh, an' she say: 'You sho' is de littles' coon I ever seen out
foragin'!' An' wid dat she say: 'Ef you'll come roun' to-morrer night,
'bout dark, I'll give you as big a pan